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The has secured $1.93 million in funding for career and technical education programs.

Bob Estabrook, communications director for the bureau, said the agency was successful in pushing through during the legislative session. The bill was seeking $2 million for CTE classes across the state, but Estabrook said it fell subject to a 3.5 percent cut across the board for all educational programs.

The bureau will use the funds to issue grants for programs that help partner skills classes with businesses and industry partners. Estabrook said the bureau is currently accepting applications for funding and is hoping for proposals that go beyond the traditional shop class model.

For example, the bureau is looking for programs on modern-day technical skills like for electrical trades, “where you’ve got some info not just about being an electrician, but being an electrician in terms of how it relates to solar panels and wind turbines, and the role that they play in that kind of a job,鈥� he said.

On March 14, Estabrook said Commissioner Brad Avakian will visit the Sheet Metal Institute at 2379 N.E. 178th Ave. to tour the facility and talk about the role CTE programs and skills-based education play in the workforce. He said a central message will be that high-wage careers are not necessarily dependent upon going to college and that employers also need technical workers to be successful.

鈥淭hat’s sort of the key piece in all of this, is having good workers that employers can put to work and be competitive with,鈥� Estabrook said.